Apart from loading web pages, there's one thing that most of our readers want their browser to do: Block annoying advertisements. Web site Neowin points out that Internet Explorer 8's InPrivate feature does just that.

Granted, if you're a Firefox user, you've already got the beloved Adblock Plus (one of our top 10 must-have Firefox extensions). For Google Chrome or Opera, you can try the less feature-rich but still effective AdSweep. And if you're using the latest and greatest Internet Explorer, it appears that the built-in InPrivate feature (essentially this is IE8's porn mode) actually does a pretty good job of filtering ads, according to web site Neowin.

The InPrivate Filter (enabled by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+F) is intended to block content that may potentially share your information; thankfully advertisements are one such example of said content.

It should be noted that the InPrivate Filter is 'smart' in the sense that it can and will (if enabled) automatically detect content which appears with a high frequency on websites that you visit. In this regard, the Filter learns as you use the web and can detect what is an advertisement or of similar content, and take action accordingly. By entering the 'Manage Addons' window, you can select how many websites a piece of content must show up on before it is flagged, at which point you can then determine whether you want to block or allow such content.

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, that means that Internet Explorer is the first popular browser that has some sort of built-in ad blocking. Not bad.